El inter\u00e9s por la incorporaci\u00f3n de robots en el \u00e1mbito de seguridad y militares, ha tenido un fuerte crecimiento en los \u00faltimos a\u00f1os. Se trata de un sector que est\u00e1 siendo explorado en muchos pa\u00edses y varias compa\u00f1\u00edas desarrollan programas espec\u00edficos. Para el caso de los productos que operan sistemas letales, los mismos est\u00e1n siendo evaluados y en muchos casos cuestionados, cuando disponen de \u201cAutonom\u00eda total\u201d. Adem\u00e1s, la fusi\u00f3n de los Robots con la Inteligencia Artificial (IA), que posibilite a los sistemas en forma individual o en equipos, realizar misiones de ataque o gestionar el ciclo de neutralizaci\u00f3n de amenazas sin la intervenci\u00f3n humana, constituye una capacidad que muchas fuerzas militares ambicionan, por las ventajas que esto otorga al minimizar las bajas humanas propias. Sin embargo, es tambi\u00e9n un motivo de preocupaci\u00f3n por los riesgos y amenazas a la seguridad, que un empleo indebido e indiscriminado de estos medios podr\u00eda ocasionar.<\/p>\n
Interest in the incorporation of robots into security, policing and military operations has been steadily increasing over the last few years. It\u2019s an avenue already being explored in both\u00a0North America<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Europe<\/a>.<\/p>\n Robot integration into these areas could be seen as analogous to the inclusion of dogs in policing and military roles in the 20th century. Dogs have served as guards, sentries, message carriers and mine detectors, among other roles.<\/p>\n Utility robots, designed to play a support role to humans, are mimicking our four-legged companions\u00a0not only in form<\/a>, but in function as well. Mounted with surveillance technology and able to ferry equipment, ammunition and more as part of resupply chains, they could significantly minimise the risk of harm to human soldiers on the battlefield.<\/p>\n However, utility robots would undoubtedly take on a different dimension if weapons systems were added to them. Essentially, they would become land-based variants of the\u00a0MQ-9 Predator Drone aircraft<\/a>\u00a0currently in use by the US military.<\/p>\n In 2021, the company Ghost Robotics\u00a0showcased one of their four-legged robots, called Q-UGV<\/a>, that had been armed with a\u00a0Special Purpose Unmanned Rifle 4<\/a>. The showcase event leaned into the weaponisation of utility robots.<\/p>\n It is important to take note of how each aspect of this melding of weaponry and robotics operates in a different way. Although the robot itself is semi-autonomous and can be controlled remotely, the mounted weapon has no autonomous capability and is fully controlled by an operator.<\/p>\n In September 2023, US Marines\u00a0conducted a proof of concept test<\/a>\u00a0involving another four-legged utility robot. They measured\u00a0its abilities to<\/a>\u00a0\u201cacquire and prosecute targets with a M72 Light Anti-Tank Weapon\u201d.<\/p>\n The test reignited the ethics debate about the use of automated and semi-automated weapon systems in warfare. It would not be such a big step for either of these platforms to incorporate AI-driven threat detection and the capability to \u201clock on\u201d to targets. In fact, sighting systems of this nature\u00a0are already available on the open market<\/a>.<\/p>\n